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Here's Why Shares of Gartner Tumbled 18% in February

Investors were jittery leading up the company's fourth-quarter earnings report.

What happened

Gartner, Inc (NYSE:IT) stock was on a downswing heading into February, and its fourth-quarter earnings report on Feb. 6 did nothing to buoy investors. Shares fell 18.3% last month, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence.

So what

The technology research company's revenue rose in the fourth quarter by 44% year over year, to $1.01 billion. Net income also jumped 61% from the year-ago quarter to $107 million, which translated into $1.16 in per-share earnings. Gartner's largest revenue segment, research, saw its sales jump by 19% (excluding revenue from the recent sale of one of its subsidiaries).

Image source: Getty Images.

The company announced in the quarter that it's selling its CEB Talent Assessment business for $400 million to Exponent Private Equity. Gartner's CEO said that business was "not aligned with our core focus of providing research and advisory services."

Gartner's sell-off began a few days before the company's latest quarterly results were released, and it was clear from February's share price slump that the company's investors weren't impressed with the quarter overall.

Now what

Gartner's shares have since rebounded somewhat and are up about 9% so far this month. But a handful of share price pops and dips over the past 12 months have taken their toll. Gartner's stock has gained about 16% over the year, compared the S&P 500's 17% gains.